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The seven young South African scientists attending the 74th Lindau Laureates meeting in Germany.
Seven young scientists specialising in chemistry were selected by the Academy of Sciences South Africa (ASSAf) to represent the country at the 74th Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting held on 29 June to 5 July in Lindau Germany.
The meeting is held every year in the lake town of Lindau in the south of Germany, and this year’s meeting is taking place amid a scorching heatwave sweeping across Europe.
However, these unseasonably warm conditions have not deterred the seven young scientists from making connections with some of the world’s most renowned scientists in the field of chemistry and physics.
“Honestly, I’m actually so inspired! One thing I’ve noticed is a common trait amongst all of the Nobel laureates is how humble they are,” says Taryn Golding, a final-year doctoral candidate in Chemistry at the University of Cape Town. The Nobel laureates are senior scientists who have each been awarded the Nobel Prize, the most prestigious recognition in science.
“They are not afraid to say, ‘I actually don’t know.’ Or ‘that’s not my field.’ And that is so refreshing, especially when you’re in a time where everyone feels like they know everything,” she said.
“Already I’ve got so many insights… I’m going to go back to South Africa and tell my young scientists and my mentees,” said Cyril Selepe, a PhD student in Chemistry at the University of Johannesburg, who was electrified by the many interactions he had with Nobel winners and other young scientists from around the globe.
The Lindau meeting, in its 74th year, comes amid an air of uncertainty around the state of science as funding cuts, such as those of the National Institutes of Health announced by President Trump, threaten scientific research around the globe, but the South African science stars attending got a welcome dose of advice from the Nobel Prize winners.
“When the political situation or funding changes, they feel adrift,” said Frances H. Arnold, winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. “They feel that their plans are being messed up. When in fact, it might be a wonderful opportunity to adapt and learn something new.”
The event gathered over 600 young scientists from all over the world, to get them to interact with each other for possible collaborations and to learn from each other.
“Be an introvert in your own time, but when you’re with other scientists, you need to network and open some new collaborations. You must be able to communicate your science to people,” said Dr Kefilwe Vanessa Mokwebo from the University of Cape Town, who got this advice from Chemistry Nobel Laureate Moungi Bawendi.
The seven young researchers hand-picked to represent South Africa at the meeting are: Sapokazi Timakwe (Cape Peninsula University of Technology), Cyril Selepe (University of Johannesburg), Taryn Golding (University of Cape Town), Dr Rudzani Ratshiedana (University of South Africa), Dr Jairus Lamola (SASOL), Kimberleigh Govender (University of KwaZulu-Natal), and Dr Kefilwe Vanessa Mokwebo (University of Cape Town).
